Knob locking device



April 28, 1959 S FALCK 2,883,850.

KNOB LOCKING DEVICE Filed May 5, 1955 nvwszyrox. JAMES STANLEY FALGK zmgzk A T TOR/V5 Y United States Patent KNOB LOCKING DEVICE James StanleyFalck, Chevy Chase, Md.

Application May 5, 1955, Serial No. 506,151

6 Claims. (Cl. 70-431) This invention relates to a new device forpreventing or foiling attempts of burglars to enter buildings, moreespecially residences.

A method frequently employed by burglars, or house breakers, to effectentry is to select an outer door hidden, if possible, from a street orother houses, such as a kitchen or basement door, which usually hasglass in the upper part, and to break or cut out an opening in a lightlarge enough to put the hand through. It is then an easy matter to putthe hand inside and unlock the door by means of the key usually left inthe lock, or to merely turn the knob if the lock is of the type whereinthe bolt is actuated by a button in the inside knob or by a key insertedfrom the outside into a key hole in the outer knob. If the lock is ofthis latter type the inserted hand can easily release the latch by meansof the button and then turn the knob from the inside or the outside.

A particular object therefore of the present invention, in the light ofthe foregoing, is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, anew and novel means whereby, even though access may be had to the innerside of a door by breaking out, or cutting out a part of a glass pane,it will not be possible for any person to gain entry into a residence orother building by the manner stated.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a manner ashereinafter set forth, a new and novel means whereby a person making ahand opening in a door in the manner stated, or in any other manner,will be unable to grasp the door knob whereby to force the turning ofthe same by hand or by an applied implement.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a manner ashereinafter set forth, a device for preventing the unauthorized entryinto a dwelling in the manner above stated, which is readily applicableto the door knob without making any changes or alterations in the dooror lock structure and which may be applied and removed without marringor otherwise injuring the door hardware.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter stated which is so constructed that it may be applied to theknob of an automatically locking fixture whereby all outside doors mayeach be equipped with the invention and the homeowner needs only toclose behind him the door by which he leaves with the assurance thatthat door as well as all other outside doors of his house cannot beentered.

The foregoing and possibly other objects are attained by the provisionof a casing formed to be slipped over the door knob to completelyenclose the same and extend toward the face of the door around the shafton which the knob is carried. This casing is formed to have extendedtransversely through it, an elongate substantially U-shaped yoke, thelegs of which straddle the knob shaft behind the knob. Means, such as apadlock, is then applied to one or both legs of the yoke to preventwithdrawing the yoke and the legs of the yoke prevent the casing frombeing slid off the knob.

The padlock may be attached to one or both free ends of the legs of theyoke by passing the link or hook of the lock through an opening in oneleg or through openings in both legs. Where the lock is connected to aleg, or to the legs, of the yoke the casing will be free to turn on theknob but cannot come off and thus a grasp cannot be obtained of the knobto turn it. Where it may be desired to secure the casing against turninga screw eye is secured in the door below'the knob to be positionedbetween the free ends of the yoke legs so that the hook or link of thepadlock may be passed through the screw eye also. By this means thepadlock may be retained against movement and thus make it difiicult fora housebreaker to pick the lock.

In the case of a door having a key-hole below the knob the link or hookof the padlock may be run through the head of the key, which isconventionally in the form of a ring, and thus the twofold object willbe attained of preventing the turning of the'casing with the yoke andpadlock and also preventing the pushing of the key out of the keyholefrom the outside.

The invention will be best understood from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming apart of the specification with the understanding that the invention isnot confined to a strict conformity with the showing of the drawing butmay be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications markno material departure from the salient features of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

In the drawing: I

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of the inner side of adoor showing the device of the present invention in perspective andapplied to the door knob or handle.

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section taken substantially on theline 22 of Figure l, the door knob being in elevation.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the device inassociation with a door key.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the reference characterD generally designates a door having window panes, a portion of one onlyof which is shown and designated 10.

The numeral 12 designates the door knob, carried by the shaft 14, theface plate surrounding the shaft and secured to the door, beingdesignated 15.

The type or style of door handle or knob here illustrated is thatwherein the locking mechanism is actuated by a key inserted in akey-slot in the outer knob (not shown) while such mechanism isoperated'from the inside for locking or unlocking the door by the button16.

This type of lock requires no key-hole in the door below the knob, butthe present invention is equally well adapted for use on the key-holetype of lock, and, in fact, has some additional advantages, as it may beconnected with the key, when the latter is left on the inside, in thekey-hole, as hereinafter described.

The invention generally embodies three essential parts, comprising acylinder, or casing 20, a yoke 21 and a padlock 22, though a fourth partin the formof a screw eye 24, may be used in association with theessential three.

The cylinder, or casing 20, comprises the cylindrical one-piece wall 25which is closed at one end by the solid end wall 26.

The cylinder is of the proper inside diameter to receive the knob 12,and is of the proper length to abut at its open inner end the face ofthe door, without the end wall 26 striking the latch control button 16.

The wall 25 has formed therethrough opposite pairs of slots or openings.The openings forming one pair on one side are designated 27 and theopenings forming the other and opposite, pair, are designated 28. Theopenings of each pair are spaced apart in the circumferential directionof the cylindrical wall and the spacing is at least as great, orgreater, than the diameter of the knob shaft 14 for the purpose about tobe described.

The yoke 21 is here shown as comprising a single piece of strap iron,steel, or other suitable material, which is formed in a U shape toprovide the two spaced parallel legs 29 and the cross connection 30therebetween. The spacing between the legs 29 is in correspondence withthe spacing between the slots of each pair and the length of each slotis such as to snugly receive the width of the legs 29, which areinserted therethrough to extend across the width of the cylinder, asshown. Obviously, therefore, the slots 27 are in line transversely ofthe cylinder to permit this.

As is also shown the yoke legs 29 are of a length materially greaterthan the diameter of the cylindrical casing 20, and each leg 29 hasformed therethrough adjacent to its end, an eye 31, which is distancedfrom the cross connection so as to lie outside the cylinder when theyoke legs are extended through the receiving slots 27 and 28.

The slots 27 and 28 are also so positioned with respect to the length ofthe casing, or to the rear open end thereof, as to lie inwardly from, orbehind, the knob 12 when the casing is in place so that when the yokelegs are extended through the transversely aligned pairs of slots 27 and28, they will straddle the knob shaft 14, behind the knob as shown.

After the casing has been placed in position on the knob, as it isillustrated and the yoke has been connected therewith by extending thelegs through the slots, the lock 22 is attached.

The lock 22 here shown is one of any number of types which may beemployed, and accordingly it is to be understood that in showing anddescribing this particular type or style, there is no intention to limitthe invention in any respect as it will be readily obvious that the onlyrequirement is of a lock having an element of suitable form to passthrough one or both of the eyes 31 in the yoke legs 29.

The lock here shown comprises the body 32 having openings or passages 33to receive the shanks 34 forming the side members of a U-shaped bolt orhook, generally designated 35. This lock is of a common well known type,being used principally as a bicycle lock, and accordingly it is notbelieved that a more detailed description is required for anunderstanding of its use as a part of this invention.

Another type of lock which may be employed is the common padlock wherethe hook or bolt is also of U form but has one shank or leg slidably andpivotally permanently coupled with the lock body while the other, andshorter, shank, or leg, is movable into and out of an opening in thebody. When this type of lock is employed the hook shank need be engagedonly through the eye 31 or one leg 29.

In the application of the safety device to a door knob it will beapparent, from the foregoing description that after the casing has beenslipped over the door knob, the yoke 21 is applied by extending the legsthrough the aligned opposite pairs of slots 27 and 28.

The leg eyes 31 will thus be exposed at the side of the casing oppositefrom the cross connection 30.

The lock 22 is then applied by extending one shank 34 either through oneeye 31, in which case thelock would hang down from the end of the yokeleg, or by running the shank across between the legs through both eyes31, in which latter case, after the locking coupling is establishedbetween the two shanks 34 and the body 32, the lock will liehorizontally as shown when the yoke is positioned with the legs hangingdown.

With the device applied to a door knob in the manner 4 thus fardescribed it will be seen that the shaft 14 of the door knob will beloosely engaged between the legs 29 of the yoke, which legs are behindand may engage the rear of the knob 12. Thus the casing cannot bewithdrawn from the knob although it would be free to turn thereon.Accordingly any attempt to turn the knob, or to get at it, so that itcould be turned, would be foiled.

As an additional feature, to block or make difficult, any attempt of anintruder to get a key into the lock with which to release it, there issecured or fixed in the body of the door, an anchor eye, here shown asthe screw-eye 24, the screw 36 of which is fixed so that the eye or head38, will be so positioned that when the yoke legs 29 are in hangingposition, the head 38 will be located between the ends of the yoke legsand the leg eyes 31 and the eye of the screw-eye head will be in line,so that the shank 34 of the lock bolt may be passed therethrough. Bypositioning the lock so that the end of the body in which the key-hole(not shown) is formed, will be directed toward and across the adjacentedge of the door, it will be seen that a person putting his hand throughan opening in the window would have difiiculty fitting a key in thelock.

Where the present invention is applied to a door knob forming a part ofa door lock mechanism of an older type in which there is a key-holebelow the knob, and in which key-hole the key is usually left, thedevice may be coupled with the key to prevent the latter being pushedfrom the key-hole, from the outside of the door.

Door keys of the older type door lock mechanisms universally have flatheads of open or ring formation which would be located approximately inthe position of the head 38 of the screw eye 24. Accordingly the padlock hook may be engaged through one or both leg eyes 31, and the ringof the key head; or through the key head ring and one leg eye only.

Fig. 4 shows the application of the safety device to a door knob of theolder type lock mechanism referred to.

Here in this Fig. 4, the door body is designated D The knob is notshown, but below the knob is the keyhole 40, in which is shown aconventional key 41 having a ring head 42.

The ring head 42 of the key 41, lies between the ends of the hangingyoke legs 29, the ring opening being in line with the eyes 31 of theyoke legs.

The numeral 43 generally designates the type of the padlock hereinbefore referred to, in which the hook 44 is permanently coupled by oneshank with the body but movable outwardly and rotatable so that the endof the other and shorter shank may be passed through a ring or otheropening. In the use of such a padlock the end of the hook is engagedthrough the eye 31 of one yoke leg and through the head of the key asshown. Thus, the two-fold object is attained of securing the knobcovering casing against movement and securing the door key so that itcannot be pushed out of the key-hole.

While in the illustrations of the device and in the description, theyoke 21 has been shown and described as formed of flat material, it isto be understood that the invention is not to be considered as limitedto the use of material of this form, since material of any other formsuitable for the attainment of the desired objects obviously may beemployed.

Also it is understood that the invention is not limited in the characterof the materials which may be used for the cylindrical casing or theyoke.

It will be seen from the foregoing description and illustrations thatthere is provided by the present invention a safety device which is ofrelatively simple construction and may be economically produced aninexpensively marketed and which will very effectively protect homes andother buildings while the occupants are away, against entry by sneakthieves in the manner frequently resorted to, as described.

The protective device can be easily and quickly placed K3 in positionfor use and removed without in any way altering the form or constructionof the door or the lock mechanism.

While the illustration of the casing 20 shows a cylindrical body 25having an end wall 26 as a separate member seamed thereof, it is to beunderstood that the casing is not limited to the construction shown asit is within scope of the present invention to use a drawn or onepiececasing in which the circular wall 25 and end wall 26 may be formed inone piece.

I claim:

1. A locking device for the purpose described comprising a cylinder ofan inside diameter slightly larger than the major diameter of a doorknob and of a length greater than the length of a door knob and shaftfrom the face of the door to the end of the knob, said cylinder havingone end closed and the other end open, said cylinder further havingpairs of slot openings in the side wall thereof and in alignmenttransversely thereof, an elongate U-shaped yoke of flat strap materialhaving spaced legs free at their ends and formed for extension throughsaid aligned openings transversely through the cylinder, the materialbetween the legs substantially conforming to the surface of the cylinderand adapted to lie thereon, the legs being of a length greater than thediameter of the cylinder, and at least one leg having an aperturetherethrough near the free end thereof providing a means whereby saidyoke may be secured by at least one leg against withdrawal from saidopening by engagement of a locking agent in said aperture.

2. In combination with a door and an inside knob joined thereto by ashaft, the knob having a lock controlling button thereon, an elongatecylindrical shield having an open end to receive the knob and shaft andclosed at its other end to cover and shield said button, the cylinderbeing of such length that when in such shielding position the open endwill abut the door, the cylinder having two pairs of openings in theside wall, the openings of one pair being aligned transversely of thecylinder with the opposite pair, an elongate substantially U-shaped yokehaving spaced legs extending across the cylinder through the alignedpairs of openings in straddling relation with said shaft and engagingthe knob on the door side thereof, and means secured to a free end of aleg for preventing withdrawal of the yoke legs from said openingswhereby removal of the cylinder and access to the button is prevented.

3. The invention according to claim 2, with means coupling the lastmeans with the side of the door from which the knob projects forpreventing turning of the cylinder on the knob.

4. The invention according to claim 2, wherein said last means comprisesa lock having an element thereof passing through an aperture in an endportion of one leg of the yoke.

5. The invention according to claim 2, with means for coupling the lastmeans to the door preventing turning of the cylinder on the knobcomprising a member carried by the door below the cylinder and having anapertured terminus disposed between the ends of the legs, at least oneof said legs having an aperture there through, and a padlock having amovable element adapted to be passed through said leg aperture andthrough said apertured terminus.

6. The invention according to claim 2, with a screw eye secured in thebody of the door between the ends of the yoke legs, said yoke legshaving apertures therethrough in line with one another and with the eyeof the screw, and a padlock having a hasp adapted to be passed throughthe aligned apertures and screw eye.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,463,195 Mungan Mar. 1, 194.9

FOREIGN PATENTS 5,130 Great Britain Feb. 27, 1914 351,049 Great BritainJune 22, 1931 372,457 Great Britain May 12, 1932

